You need more DRAMA in your life. The Chicago-based duo of Na’el Shehade and Via Rosa conjure an alluring brew of R&B and dance music. Heartbreak never sounded so blissful, and contemporary electronic music rarely sounds so sumptuously melancholic.
Both members carry considerable musical backgrounds individually. Born in Austin and eventually raised in California, Via’s parents played in a reggae band well into her teens, and at 14, she began making music on her own. Via eventually linked up with the THEMPeople and Savemoney collectives, moving out to Chicago at 20 and releasing the DeathViaLove EP with THEMPeople.
The Chicago-born Na’el started DJ’ing before he even reached his teenage years. He began producing at the age of 13 and spent most of his high school years making music with friends, selling his first EP to classmates and licensing two of his songs to a Bravo reality TV series. Na’el eventually began producing and engineering professionally and went on to contribute to Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap and Kanye West’s remix of Chief Keef’s colossal “I Don’t Like.”
The duo eventually came to meet while Na’el was working on Jean Deaux’s Soular System project. They went into the studio and began collaborating on music with no rules. Just two musicians allowing each other to be free to express themselves. Inspired in equal part by Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical fantasias, Sade, Drake, world music, and David Bowie, DRAMA was born out of their desire to create something truly fresh and engaging.
They self-released their debut "Gallows" in 2016. They have remained independent which has given them the freedom to continue to push musical boundaries. In 2018 they began touring extensively and dropped new music including a cover of Everything but the Girl’s "Missing", their follow up EP "Lies After Love" and the newly released single "Ready for Love".
